Many Gmail users are getting an error instead of their mail.
Screenshot by Rafe Needleman/CNET

Google's e-mail service, Gmail, is being reported as offline for many people this morning.

The extent and cause of the outage isn't known at the moment. It is not a complete outage, but Twitter is abuzz with reports from users unable to access the Web service.

Users seem to be reporting mostly outages in Gmail.com accounts. Users of Google business e-mail accounts (Google Apps) are also reporting issues. Google's Apps status dashboard reports, "We're investigating reports of an issue with Google Mail. We will provide more information shortly."

Other services, such as Google Docs and Google+, also appear unusable for those who are unable to access Gmail.

Update, 10:40 a.m. PT: Gmail appears to be coming back online for those who experienced an outage. Google reported in a tweet that "#Gmail should be back for some of you already, and will be back for everyone soon. Thanks for your patience."

Update, 10:42 a.m.: A Google representative provided this statement: "We're aware that some users are experiencing an error when accessing their Gmail. We are working on a resolution and apologize for the inconvenience. Thanks for your patience."

Update, 11 a.m.: Google's App Status Dashboard now says "The problem with Google Mail should be resolved. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience and continued support. Please rest assured that system reliability is a top priority at Google, and we are making continuous improvements to make our systems better."

Update, 11:22 a.m.: A Google representative said less than 2 percent of Gmail users were affected. "We've implemented a fix, and users should now be able to access their mail."

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Rafe Needleman reviews mobile apps and products for fun, and picks startups apart when he gets bored. He has evaluated thousands of new companies, most of which have since gone out of business.
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